Unilateral contract changes, late payments and less money for their products – many farmers have to do with this. Moreover, the food trade is dominated by gigantic chains such as Spar, Hofer or Rewe.
How unfair the situation of farms can be recorded in the activity report of the “Fairness Office”, which the Ministry of Agriculture published. The farmers must struggle with increasing personnel and energy costs- in some cases a price adjustment for their products is refused.
Consumers pay more and the farmer is becoming less
This shows an example of an example of a traditional and family -run butcher company: a retail chain increased the price of a product for consumers with almost a third party. The small company, however, came even thicker: at the same time, the butcher operation was paid two percent less for the product, as in the activity report.
In cases like this there is the “Fairness Office” – the place that is intended to help farmers defend themselves against such unfair measures. In 2024 the symptoms rose somewhat. 239 Farmers turned to the “Fairness Office”, about four more than in the previous year. However, more than 600 farmers are indirectly affected in the activity report.
Minister: “Fight with uneven weapons”
Minister of Agriculture Norbert Tettschnig (ÖVP) sees a “struggle with uneven weapons”. More than 100,000 farmers producers and processors are “in contrast to a handful of commercial giants,” the minister criticizes. “Many producers fear that they are losing their plank and are forced to accept unfair circumstances because they do not miss alternatives,” emphasizes murder. Because in Austria the food market is dominated by large chains such as Spar, Hofer and Rewe.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
